Donation Campaigns and Recurring Payments

Similar to multi-channel communication, multi-channel fundraising opens more avenues for your organization to connect with your donors. Our Donation Sites provide all the tools and features to optimize raising funds online, including recurring and installment payment options, while making the process easy and convenient for you and everyone involved.

Create a Donation Site

Admins have multiple options for creating, customizing, and sharing a Donation Site.

Select the tile to the left to raise funds on behalf of your group, or select the Find a Cause module if you’re fundraising for a 501(c)(3) charity

If you’re raising funds for a 501(c)(3) charity, select Find a Cause to create a donation campaign with the least amount of paperwork for you and your donors. Any individual or group can raise funds to benefit the charity selected through this feature, and the funds will go directly to the selected charity – no accounting or transfers required. Donors will automatically receive email receipts, and donations made directly to qualifying 501(c)(3) charities may be tax deductible.

After you have selected the organization you want to raise funds for, select one of the following choices:

Use a Template - Select a template from various categories

Click on the + sign to expand a category. A preview will appear to the right of your selection.

Once you have found the template you want to use, click the Use This Template button

Copy a Campaign - Make a copy of an existing campaign you wish to use

Blank Campaign - Start from scratch to completely build your campaign

Note: The main difference between using a template and a blank campaign is that a template will have the site already formatted and designed with filler text.

Finish creating a campaign by filling in the required information: Campaign Title, Category, Why Are You Fundraising?, Campaign Goal, End Date, and Default Donation

Click Save & Continue

In this section, you can add videos and giving levels to your Donation site. Although it’s optional, adding a video is an effective way to convey your group’s mission or cause. Giving levels can be used to help convey what a specific amount of funds will be used for and give an idea of how much donors can contribute. Use both to optimize the impact you have on those contributing.

Customize the look of a donation campaign

These next steps allow admins to customize their Donation Sites. Use a memorable custom URL, choose specific colors, and upload a banner - key identifiers for brand recognition and consistency. You can also upload a photo album that you’ve created on the platform; images are a great way to strengthen the connection between your cause and your donors. For example, including pictures of who will benefit from the funds raised or showing how the funds will be put to use is an effective way to convey your donors’ impact.

To customize the URL:

In the features list of the donation campaign you wish to edit, select Copy or Customize the Campaign Page URL

In the overlay that appears, select the Customize button to change the bolded part of the URL

Click into the text box and make desired changes, then select Save

Note: You must enter a valid URL suffix using only letters, numbers, or dashes in order to save your changes.

To change the accent color:

Navigate to the donation campaign you wish to edit

Click the Edit button at the top right of the page

Hit Save & Continue at the bottom of the page to navigate to campaign page edits

Click the Accent Color icon to pick a different color

On the overlay that appears, choose the desired color or enter the hex code and select the OK button

To change the button text color:

Click the Button Text Color icon to pick a different color

On the overlay that appears, choose the desired color or enter the hex code and select the OK button

Your updated donation campaign page will display with a preview of the selected colors.

To change the banner:

Hover over the banner image section. Click on the Edit icon that appears

On the overlay that appears, drag and drop your desired photo into the allotted area, or click to browse and upload

Note: The recommended image size is 900 px wide.

Click the Upload button

To add a photo album:

Only photo albums that have previously been created on the platform can be added to a Donation Site.

Click the Add Photo Albums section

Select the checkbox next to the photo album that you’ve previously created on the platform

Click Save

You can always come back and make changes to this page if you decide to navigate away from it.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and select Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Make desired changes to color palette, add photo albums, videos, and choose to hide or display the donor ticker and other elements before selecting Save & Close

Get the link to your Donation Site

Once you’ve published your Donation Site, you can get the link to it at anytime.

On the left navigation bar, click on Donation Sites

Click on the gear icon next to the campaign you wish to get the link for

In the dropdown menu, select Get Link

An overlay will appear wherein you can copy the entire URL.

Copy, customize, or shorten the campaign page URL

Admins have the option to modify part of the campaign page URL as well as use a built-in URL shortener when the number of characters in the URL is an issue. Modifying the URL works best when you want to create a more memorable URL, use keywords, or use a naming convention. Shortening the URL is convenient when there’s a need to limit the number of characters, such as in a Twitter post.

On the left navigation bar, click on Donation Sites

Select the title of the campaign you want to copy or customize the form URL for

In the features list, click on Copy or Customize the Campaign Page URL

An overlay will appear with the following options:

To copy either the full URL or shortened URL, click on the respective Copy to Clipboard button

Click the Customize button to modify part of the campaign page URL. The text box that appears will allow you to edit the portion of the URL that is customizable. Click Save.

Note: After you customize your URL, your previous URL will no longer work. If you have given out your old URL to anyone, they will no longer be able to use it. Shortened URLs do not change, so users can continue to use the same shortened URL whether or not you edit the full URL.

Select a bank account to deposit funds

Even if you have not yet set up a bank account to deposit funds, you can still create a Donation Site. Selecting a charity through our Find a Cause module will allow you to skip this step. If you’re raising funds for your own group that has not yet selected a bank account to deposit funds, it’s important to note that you must do this in order to access collected funds. To view the process of how to select a bank account to deposit funds, please see Add and Verify a Bank Accountin the Reporting and Account Settings section.

On the left navigation bar, click on Donation Sites

Select the title of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, click Select a Bank Account to Deposit Funds

Click the dropdown menu to select a bank account or select Add a New Bank Account

If you add a new bank account, you will be required to fill in the bank account’s information fields and verify the account in order to access collected funds.

Click Save & Close

Copy a campaign

This feature allows admins to make a copy of an existing campaign, ideal for creating a variation of a Donation Site without altering the original.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to copy

Near the top right of the admin page, click Copy Campaign

A copy of the new form will appear in edit mode, which you can customize and save

How to Create Supporter Pages

A Supporter Page is an individual’s fundraising page created in support of your donation campaign. Supporter Pages are more effective in helping you reach your fundraising goal for these reasons:

The very first step is creating a Donation Siteif you haven’t already. In the creation process, keep Supporter Pages enabled (they are by default). When you’re finished creating your Donation Site, ask your members to create a Supporter Page when you share the link to your fundraiser.

Here’s how you and your members (or anyone, really) can create a Supporter Page:

From your Donation Site, click Support this Campaign

Users will be prompted to log in to memberplanet or create an account if they don’t have one

After logging in or creating an account, a new browser window will appear in which supporters can set their own goal and add their own reason why they’re supporting the campaign

Setting an individual goal on a Supporter Page is a great way to make it more achievable. Your Donation Site might list the overall fundraising goal – say $5,000 for example – which could seem overwhelming.

Encourage your supporters to set their own realistic goals for themselves, and when they share their supporter page, the goal will be more attainable to themselves and donors.

Personalize the page by adding the reason you’re supporting the campaign and include your profile picture if you feel comfortable. This page is meant to be shared to your social network, so including your own story and connection to the cause will give your friends more of a personal reason to donate.

When finished, click Publish

The Supporter Page URL will be provided, and you can share it to social media directly from the platform, mobile app, or the page itself.

View Donation Campaign Reports

As a group leader, understanding how effective your donation campaign efforts are is critical. Donation reports allow you to view how much is raised for each campaign, as well as all the information submitted with each donation. This is especially helpful if you’re trying to determine who was emailed, how much you recently raised, and the progress you’ve made for each campaign. All reports are exportable to an Excel spreadsheet for more advanced sorting and editing options.

Data from the last four months will appear as a summary at the top of the page, and the rest of your donation campaign data will display in sortable columns.

To sort by column, click on the column header

Data will be sorted by column header in ascending order.

To sort by descending order, click on the column header again

View a specific donation campaign report

There may be times when you want to see all the details of your campaign, such as all the data a donor submitted on the donation form. This includes information submitted in custom fields you may have created, the date and time of the donation, username, the email address the receipt was sent to, the amount submitted, any fees collected for electronic payments, and transferable funds.

On the left navigation bar, click Donation Sites

Select the gear icon of the donation campaign you wish to manage

In the dropdown menu, click Form Responses

All form responses will be listed in sortable columns. To sort by column, click on the column header.

To hide or show columns from displaying, click the Choose Columns button

Uncheck or check the box next to the column name you wish to hide or show

Click Save

View email history

If you have notified your members of your campaign via email on the platform, you will be able to view the email history and see whom you’ve sent the email to.

On the left navigation bar, click Donation Sites

Click on the name of the donation campaign you wish to manage

On the top right, select View Email History

A summary of emails sent will be displayed.

To view details and tracking stats of an email, click on the date listed.

Email data, including email addresses, delivery status, and whether or not it was opened will be displayed in sortable columns.

View Supporter Page funds

A Supporter Pageis an individual’s fundraising page created in support of your donation campaign.

To view Supporter Page funds:

On the left navigation bar, click Donation Sites

Select the gear icon next to the donation campaign you wish to manage

In the dropdown menu, click Form Responses

If your group has collected any funds through a Supporter Page, that data will be displayed in sortable columns.

Manage Recurring Payment Options and More

Admins have a variety of options available to customize their Donation Sites and optimize them for their own organizations. Some of our most useful features allow admins to manage recurring payment options, collect donor data, record offline (cash or check) donations, and collect payments with the mobile app.

By default, recurring donation options are enabled on our Donation Sites with One-time Payment on auto-select. We recommend keeping this option available to donors because it makes it easy for them to donate.

To customize:

On the left navigation bar, hover over over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the title of the donation campaign you want to manage

Select Manage Recurring and Installment Payment Options from the features list

On the Frequency section, click Custom

This will display more recurring payment options for you to select.

Selecting Show in the End Payments section will allow a donor to set a final payment date or cumulative amount.

Clicking Enabled in the Auto-select section will allow you to set an auto-selected or default recurring payment frequency.

Click Save & Close once you have made desired changes

Record an offline donation

Some of your donors may pay via cash or check offline. You can still keep accurate records, recognize these donors, and show progress on your goal meter by logging these payments on your Donation Site.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the published campaign you wish to manage

Click Record an Offline Payment

Enter the amount, date, payment type, member info/name/email and any additional notes

Click the Record Payment button

Collect more information from donors

Each donation campaign is unique, and every admin can choose what information is necessary to collect when someone makes an online donation to their organization. The basic donation form requires a donor to submit first and last name and email address. You can collect more information with a custom form by following the steps below.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, click Collect More Information with a Custom Form

On the Add Fields tab, you have the option to drag and drop four different types of fields into their survey preview:

Basic: text or paragraph

Selection: dropdown, radio buttons, etc.

Preset: name, address, etc.

Section & Separators: divider or description

Add a new field by dragging it from the Add Field tab and dropping it onto your survey form

It will embed where you drop it.

Note: On the form, you can select fields, including section headers, and drag and drop them to reposition them.

Use the Field Options tab to label, assign default values, and add notes to each field

Click on the field you want to edit and fill in the corresponding text boxes appearing on the left.

Pro Tip: One of the field options is to pre-fill fields with member information, which can save time for those who are members of your group. As long as they're logged in, or coming to the form from a personalized link in an email campaign, their information will already be filled out for them and they can skip the field. Basic member data like name, email, contact info, address, and any custom membership questions your group has are available for pre-filling. Please note that certain types of fields can only be pre-filled with certain types of member info. For example, you must add a Name field to your form; you cannot pre-fill the member's name into a Basic Text field.

Remove a field by selecting it on your form and clicking the trashicon located on the Field Options tab

Once your form is complete, click Save & Close

Customize giving levels or payment options

Different payment options work best in different situations. If your campaign is a basic fundraiser, the Giving Levels setting is recommended, and giving levels are enabled by default. The Other Payment Options setting is useful for more advanced campaigns wherein there’s a need to show multiple payment items, make certain line items required, or track inventory. Selecting Other Payment Options will disable giving levels.

To customize giving levels:

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, click Customize Giving Levels or Payment Options

In the Giving Levels section, click in the appropriate field to edit the dollar amount, giving level title, and description

To add a new giving level: Click the Add a Giving Level button.

To reorder the giving levels: Click the up and down arrows to move the giving level to the desired position.

To delete a giving level: Select the trash icon next to the giving level you wish to delete.

To customize other payment options:

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, click Customize Giving Levels or Payment Options

In the Payment Style section, select Other Payment Options

Admins have the option to set the following attributes for payment items: Type, Label, and Item Group Label. You can also set any item as required.

Payment Type defines how a user interacts with a payment item. Admins can set the type to:

Any amount: Users can choose any amount they wish to pay. This is usually done for donations.

Any amount (multi-item): Users can choose a few different amounts that add up to their total payment.

Fixed amount: All users will pay the same fixed amount. This displays as a required payment item to a user.

Fixed amount (multi-item): Users can pick one fixed amount from a few different choices.

Item quantity: Users will choose a quantity of an item. For example, they can choose the quantity of T-shirts (fixed price) to purchase.

Item quantity (multi-item): Users can choose quantities of different items.

Payment Label: the name an admin gives to a payment item, which is visible to a user.

Item Group Label: the name an admin gives to a group of payment items, which is visible to a user. For example, if your form has a group of different sized blue T-shirt items, they may all be labeled under “Blue T-shirts.”

To edit a payment item, click the pencil icon, or to add a payment item, click the Add Payment Item button

Select Payment Type from the dropdown menu

In the options that appear, enter the Payment Label and other information for the item for which you are receiving payment

Click Save

To edit or delete an existing payment item, click the pencil icon or X icon next to the item name.

When you have completed adding and editing payment items, click Save & Close

Manage payment alerts

You and other administrators can be notified by email whenever someone makes a payment. By default, an alert will be sent to the email address associated with the account from which the donation campaign was created.

To edit who is receiving payment alerts:

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, select Manage Payment Alerts

Disable payment alerts by deselecting the checkbox in the overlay that appears, or modify who is receiving payment alerts by typing in or removing email addresses in the text field

Click Save

Close a campaign

The status of a donation campaign can either be published, editing, or closed. Closing your campaign is the same thing as unpublishing it. If you close your campaign, users will no longer be able to donate on the Donation Site. If they navigate to your Donation Site, they will see a message stating: This campaign has ended. You can always re-open a campaign after it has been closed. Campaigns will exist in your Donation Sites list until they’re deleted.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the gear icon next to the name of the published campaign you wish to close

In the dropdown menu, click Close

In the pop-up overlay, select the OK button to confirm

Add a thank-you message

Once a member submits a donation, a confirmation email automatically goes out to the member. Admins have the option to include a thank-you message in the confirmation email. Customized thank-you messages help keep your donors engaged and feeling positive about their contributions.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the title of the donation campaign you want to add a thank-you message for

Click Add Thank-you Message in the feature list

You have two checkbox options:

Add a thank-you message to the payment confirmation email

Upon selecting this feature, a text box will appear wherein you can write a custom message

Send an email campaign as a thank-you when someone makes a payment

You can select an existing email campaign to be sent

Click Save & Close

Assign the convenience fee to the payer

By default, the Convenience Fee, which is the processing fee deducted from payments collected on the system, is charged to the organization.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, click Customize Giving Levels or Payment Options

Near the bottom of the page, click More Options

Next to Convenience Fee, select the radio button The Person Making the Payment Will Pay the Convenience Fee

Click Save & Close

Modify whom your campaign is visible to

By default, all your members can see a published campaign in their memberplanet activity feed. To modify who can see it, or to send to a different distribution list, follow the steps below. (Learn how to create a distribution list.)

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, select Notify Your Members

Select the members you want to share the campaign with by checking the box next to their names, or choose from a list you’ve previously created

Click Save & Close

Share a campaign with leaders in another group

Many organizations have sister groups, local chapters or clubs, or other groups they collaborate with. If the group you work with also uses memberplanet, you can share a campaign or any other form with admins or leaders from that group. This feature helps save time for other admins who will utilize the form on the platform for their own member engagement efforts.Sharing your campaign will give the leaders of the selected group full access to editing or deleting this campaign. Only the bank account is locked -- leaders of the other groups cannot change the bank account where your funds from this campaign will be deposited.

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the title of the donation campaign you want to share with leaders in another group

In the features list, click Share this Campaign with Leaders in Another Group

Use the search box to search for the group name

Select Add for the desired group

Click Save

Use a widget to show a campaign on an external website

If you have an external website you would like to promote your donation campaign on, you can use a widget to display some details of your campaign:

Using the widget is an easy way to drive visitors to your campaign to make a donation.

On the left navigation bar, hover over over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the title of the donation campaign you want to manage

In the features list, click Use a Widget to Show this Campaign on an External Website

Copy and paste the entire snippet of HTML code provided to your website

Each external website builder is different. Check out the customer support for your website hosting company for instructions on embedding the code.

Collect payments with the mobile app

Through memberplanet’s mobile app, admins can collect payments for their group on the go. You can use your smartphone to scan credit cards to accept payments without any additional hardware. This tool can be used to collect donations on site. To view instructions on using this feature on the mobile app, please see Collect Payments with the Mobile App.

Create a Donate button for your email campaigns

When creating email campaigns, you have the option to include buttons – not just links – for any form created on the platform.

On the left navigation bar, hover over over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the title of the donation campaign you want to manage

In the features list, click Create a Donate Button for Your Email Campaigns

Admins have one of two options to select:

Choose a Button: Use the dropdown menu to select the desired button text, then click on the color of your choice

Upload Your Own Image: Click the Choose Image button, and drag and drop your desired image into the allotted area, or click to browse and upload. Complete the prompts to upload and crop your image if needed, then click Save

Note: Recommended image size is 580 px or smaller.

To use your button in an email, navigate to the email you want to use and go to Step 4: Content

In the body of your email, select the area you wish to insert the button, then click Buttons in the toolset that appears

In the pop-up window that appears, click on the Type dropdown menu and select Form Button

Click the Go button for corresponding form you want to use. Your button will appear in the area selected

Anyone can fill out a payment form, whether or not he or she is a member of your group. This feature can be used for times when you want to use a button on an external website to drive users to make a donation.

On the left navigation bar, click on Donation Site

Select the title of the campaign you want to create a button for your external website

In the features list, click Create a Donate Button for Your External Website

Admins have one of two options to select:

Choose a Button: Use the dropdown menu to select the desired button text, then click on the color of your choice

Upload Your Own Image: Click the Choose Image button, and drag and drop your desired image into the allotted area, or click to browse and upload. Complete the prompts to upload and crop your image if needed, then click Get Code Snippet

Note: Recommended image size is 580 px wide or smaller.

A shaded box will contain the HTML code for your button. Copy the entire segment, and paste it into your website.

Each external website builder is different. Check out the customer support for your website hosting company for instructions on embedding the code.

Enable pay-by-mail

For security and reporting purposes, mail-in donations are handled differently on the platform. Admins can still accept and record offline donations. However, by default, pay-by-mail, is disabled because it only applies to packets. Packets are multiple online forms bundled together because the information needs to be submitted at the same time. For example, registration usually consists of multiple forms that all need to be filled out and submitted at once.

If you would like to accept mail-in donations, you must first create a packetthat includes the donation campaign you wish to receive mail-in donations for.

Important Note: Pay-by-mail cannot be enabled for a charity selected through the Find a Cause feature, because the funds will be electronically transferred to the selected organization.

After you have created a packet, you can then enable pay-by-mail by following the steps below:

On the left navigation bar, hover over Donation Sites and click Manage Donation Sites in the submenu

Select the name of the campaign you wish to manage

In the features list, click Manage Settings for Receiving Payments by Mail

In the overlay that appears, select Allow People to Pay By Mail

Enter the address to deliver payment to

Click Save

On the left navigation bar, hover over Packets and click Manage Packets

Select the packet title that contains the donation campaign you wish to receive mail-in donations for

In the features list, click Manage Settings for Receiving Payments by Mail

Click the Enable button

Select the X icon in the top right to exit the overlay

To get the full URL to your packet, click on the View Packet button

A new browser window will open that will direct people to your packet. Admins must use this URL to give donors the pay-by-mail option. Within your packet, donors will be able to select Pay by Mail in the Use a New Payment Method dropdown menu.

Glossary - Donation Campaigns and Recurring Payments

Convenience Fee: the processing fee deducted from payments collected on the system. By default, this fee is charged to the organization.

Donation Site: a customizable web page designed to optimize raising funds online, while making the process easy and convenient for group admins and donors.

Item Group Label: the name an admin gives to a group of payment items, which is visible to a user.

Packets: multiple online forms bundled together because the information needs to be submitted at the same time. Packets are the only forms for which admins have the option of enabling pay-by-mail.

Payment Type defines how a user interacts with a payment item. Admins can set the type to:

Any amount: Users can choose any amount they wish to pay. This is usually done for donations.

Any amount (multi-item): Users can choose a few different amounts that add up to their total payment.

Fixed amount: All users will pay the same fixed amount. This displays as a required payment item to a user.

Fixed amount (multi-item): Users can pick one fixed amount from a few different choices.

Item quantity: Users will choose a quantity of an item. For example, they can choose the quantity of T-shirts (fixed price) to purchase.

Item quantity (multi-item): Users can choose quantities of different items.

Payment Label: the name an admin gives to a payment item, which is visible to a user.

Supporter Page: an individual’s fundraising page created in support of your donation campaign.